At The 3rd Floor Store
i walked down to the store earlier to go get one of those kitkat ice creams. while i was paying, i saw this kid of about 12 or 13 years old, just chilling at the checkout counter. he was holding an unlit cigarette in his hand.
i remember just 2 years ago i went out with james, whom i no longer speak to anymore, to this snooker centre in OUG’s Pearl Point. we played a few games of pool, but after a while i wanted to leave. the reason being the place was just full of kids hanging around the place smoking cigarettes, dressed in short little skirts and hiphop bling, and using language some adults wouldnt. and when i say kids, i mean kids who are like 10 years old. i just couldnt stomach the sight of it.
james, who hails from the OUG area, says that this is the kind of crowd pearl point attracts, and that i shouldnt feel too disturbed. what kind of logic is that, i asked. just because pearl point is the meeting place for delinquent children, does it make it any less real that these are CHILDREN sitting around a dingy snooker place sharing cigarettes? these kids should be at home, having tuition classes, eating homecooked food or watching cartoons. or something! i wanted to grab each and every one of them by the shoulders, shake them hard, and tell them to be a kid again. dont grow up so fast. you’re breaking your parents’ hearts.
my brother got suspended from school a couple of days ago. that’s messed up. usually i’d be very upset and inconsolable, but sometime this year i’ve realized that there is absolutely no way i can go on pretending to be an authority figure to my brothers anymore. they’ve become old enough to realize that no one died and made me queen, and thus i have no right to tell them what to do. having them say that to my face was hurtful beyond belief, but very awakening. there’s only so much an older sister can do before she has to learn to let go, and let them make their own mistakes.
so this kid at the store. he’s about the age of my younger brother, and it made me so sad to see him holding that cig in his hands. i looked at him and then at his cigarette. upon catching my eye, he instantly hid it away. he’s embarassed, i think to myself. either that or scared. so why does he do it?
i walked out of the store with my icecream. i’d gone as far as the elevator when i turned around, went back into the store and said to the kid, ‘dont smoke. it’s not good for you’. then i gave him a sad smile and left. he didnt say anything, he just looked very scared.
kid at store, you look so much like my brother. i hope you learn to make the right choices in life.
32 comments September 7th, 2006
